Revelation

A great hulking figure lead his steed through a forest, nothing more than a shadow against the surrounding trees outside of Yggdrasil, a place that was apparently his home base. The woman beside him was blissfully silent, exhausted from the non-stop traveling they'd been doing in search of more warriors.

In the distance, deep in a grove of rotted brush and pines infested with termites, he spied movement, and he started forward, thinking perhaps he'd finally run into someone worth recruiting.

A light-colored horse was drinking out of a trickle of water that ran down the bed of what used to be a bubbling river, that much he knew. The closer he got, he saw that the horse was sickly thin, and it's fur was the strangest color of green. Behind it, a figure was standing very, very still, obviously hoping he wouldn't notice her.

"Show yourself, Horseman of the Apocalypse." He said in his most forceful tone. Diadal twitched, but Krigon merely grinned at his observance.

The cloak twitched, and a hooded head raised itself from where it had been crouching behind the horse, and Krigon nearly jumped in shock. A deathly white face, with a matching greenish tinge to her horse gawked back at him, and he wondered whether or not a victim of his had come back from the grave to....haunt him...or work with him...whatever she was here about.

"Well...I, um...I, uhh...I wasn't planning on partying until after I suck the life out of the earth, but a big guy like you would be great for some beer pong, am I right? How about we skip the purging of the demon and go find a bar?" she asked hesitantly, apparently looked in 'fight or flight' mode....leaning towards flight.


Krigon didn't answer, because he was fixated on her lips. Aside from the still slightly bloody scar running down the side of her nose, or the great, gaping hole in her throat that was almost certainly infected, telling from the green pus leaking out of it, her lips had to be the most horrible disfigurement he'd ever seen. The right side was fine. Plump, even...she might have been pretty at one point. Not gorgeous, mind you, but a decent looking girl. But sure enough, it appeared that the left side of her mouth had rotted away, revealing her cavity-blackened molars, even when her lips were close.


She was quite disgusting to behold, to say the least.

He quickly realized that she must have been the cause of the river drying up and the vegetation decay, and Krigon immediately started envisioning her assets in the coming battle.

"State your name." he demanded, and was delighted to see her jump. Good, easily intimidated.

"Death." she told him, slouching a bit to make herself smaller.

"Death?" he repeated, not believing his ears.

"Death." she restated. "My parents had a dark sense of humor." she joked, shrugging sheepishly.

"Indeed." he said. "I guess that makes you the fourth rider." Death nodded. "I am the second rider, War, of the red horse. My name is Krigon. Are you in search of your purpose?" he asked in his least gruff voice.

"Aren't we all?" she asked, then immediately sobered. "I was just sort of wandering around for the longest time, destroying crops, setting the beasts a-frenzy, you know, biding my time." she lowered her eyebrows suspiciously. "Why, am I supposed to go get a purpose? I guess I could make an effort, although I don't really have any money for one of those pseudo-christian-anti-feminist self-help books for young girls that are actually just pro-life preachers relating to their molestation victims, but I'm sure I could-"

"Enough." Krigon stated. "Come with me to the tree, I'm sure there's something for us both there. Come, Diadal."

And with that, the two women consented to follow him, the first reigning in her urge to kill the blonde little bitch, the second reluctant to leave solitude, but unwilling to fight the giant.


((sorry about the long post, my fingers wouldn't quit, you know how it is.))

Foam dripping from her mouth, Haldis fought against the bit as Yoko pulled the left reign back towards here rear, spinning her in a tight circle to the left. While she had a pleasant temperament, Haldis was a little unruly when she was first taken out for a ride. She reared back suddenly as Hel appeared before her, almost throwing Yoko off had he not grabbed on to the horn of the saddle in time.

“What do you want,” Yoko growled as the sickly looking white mare settled down. “I want to offer you something,” Hel said simply. “I’m very aware about the condition of your malformed werewolf friend. I figured you might want Rabbit gone.”

While Yoko was pleased at the offer, he couldn’t help but wonder exactly what Hel was getting at. “And what exactly would I have to do for you?” he asked suspiciously. Hel shrugged, but her smile was nothing if not sly. “Just prove to me that you can do your job without him. We’re sending what riders we have off on a test run today. Prove yourself then, and I’ll get rid of Rabbit. Have fun, be creative. You know, all that good stuff.”

Yoko resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It would only please the goddess more. He hated the idea of killing a mass amount of people, but Kitais safety was far more important to him.

Krigon, Diadal, and Death led their horses toward the massive tree in the center of the forest, feeling a pull that they hadn't noticed before. Diadal was left walking while the riders stoically ahead, the red horse of war massively dwarfing the pale horse of death.

Death was becoming increasingly nervous as they approached the area, the reins of her horse shaking in her hands as her already dirty hair became damp with sweat. Krigon still radiated the slight aroma of blood and rotting flesh, so between the four creatures in front, she figured that they would be able to smell them before anyone else. Only Diadal remained scentless.

She did her best to remain in the shadows, but the giant Krigon had no patience for neither her antics or her avoidance of their 'mission'. Death had not yet taken very kindly to Krigon, but then again he seemed apprehensive of her as well.

Finally, they spotted the tree in the distance, and Death turned around quickly to search for a quick escape, a deer trail perhaps. But there was nothing but the blacked plants she'd sworn were green and healthy before she passed them. For each step her horse took a spot of grey ash was left where the brown dirt had been. Diadal scowled at her from her place behind them, and Death spun back around, seeing another horse in the distance. From here, they could see that the being on the horse was conversing with a woman standing before him, and Death's anxiety shot through the roof, her already clammy skin growing cold. What if he was another rider? What if he was even crueler than what she suspected Krigon to be. She knew without a doubt that if she hadn't been his fellow rider, he very well would have killed her without a second thought.

Krigon on the other hand, felt his blood thirst grow, and spotting Yoko and Hel in the distance, knew that it would be quenched soon. The greatsword seemed to pulse with the same hunger in his belt, and he grinned.

Kamira sat contentedly on the back of her horse Hamlet as she rode towards Yoko and Hel were. It felt good to be out of the tree again; to taste for the first time with her new powers the world which she once had connections to. She wrinkled her nose as the wind shifted direction and she caught the scent of something putrid. "Good Fenris, what the hell is that stench?!" she exclaimed. "It's like a rotting corpse."

"Good Fenris?" Hel echoed as Kamira rode towards them. "My my. Only here for a day and already she blindly worships my brother. How...cute." Yoko rolled his eyes, pulling back on the reigns as Haldis stamped her foot impatiently. He sort of wished that Krigon and Kamira would've flocked towards each other, rather than to him. "You must be popular Yoko," Hel teased as if reading his mind.

Yoko sighed and decided to answer Kamiras question, simply so that Hel wouldn't talk to him. "Death," Yoko said, guesturing to the Rider with his head.

((Muse on suicide watch again. TT^TT Posts will probably be really short.))

Krigon and Death arrived within listening distance when Yoko gestured to Death for some reason.

"Yoko!" Krigon cried out jovially. Another person on horseback was approaching as well, and they could only assume it was the forth and final rider. Krigon and Death stopped in a formation in front of Yoko, waiting for the fourth rider to come and complete the four corners, leaving Hel in the middle to explain their purpose.

With Diadal behind him, Krigon hadn't felt so invigorated since his awakening, the excitement from his past excursion having been run on pure exhausted adrenaline alone. Finally, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were united. At this moment, there was no other place more dangerous.

Death, on the other hand, was ready to bolt at any second, for the diminutive woman on the ground was giving her...there was no other word for it...the heebie-jeebies. She liked to think she had a sixth sense for that sort of thing. Another aspect of the situation that made her uneasy was her lack of a weapon. Everyone else seemed to have something in which to bat around their enemies, where she could only kill crops and force the animals rabid. And usually when they were rabid, they weren't so inclined to get rid of any threats to her immediate person. She was defenseless. A panic attack was on the way...

Yokos mood darkened as Krigon approached. He really wasn't too fond of the hulking giant, probably because they were so different in personality. His eyes fell to the fourth rider and he winced. She looked like she would've been rather pretty, were it not for the decaying skin and blackened gums and whatnot. The smell was indeed unpleasant, but bareable. Since he wasn't blind, his sense of smell wasn't as accute as Kamiras.

"Okay dears!" Hel exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "You four are going to go on a bit of a playdate today! Head off to the west, destroy what you want. Rape, pillage, get drunk, I don't care what you do really. But remember to have fun with it!" She said all this in a joyful manner, glancing quickly at Yoko when she said to have fun.

Kamira rolled her eyes at Hel's comment about blindly worshipping Fenris. Sorry, hon, she thought in response. Been there, done that, not goin back. My experience with overly ambitious lupine gods hasn't exactly been good. However, flattery does tend to bring good results. However, she was a bit grateful to Fenris for giving her at least some purpose rather than let her continue walking around apt to bore herself to death. "Death, huh?" she said. "Fitting name."

Death slowly raised her hand.

"Do I have to rape? I don't think I'd be very good at that." she asked in a timid yet joking voice. "I'm also a bit of a lightweight. Four drinks and I'm usually done." Krigon sent her a disgusted look. Diadal, on the other hand, looked ecstatic.

"Krigon!!!" she screeched. "Lets go, lets go, lets go!" she demanded, tugging on his calf, the highest place she could reach. She'd been following this mook around for days, time to get something out of it! Krigon studiously ignored her.

Death wondered if perhaps she could just kill some corn and a forest or two and be done with it. The act of actually killing made her already sensitive stomach queasy, unless she could do it from a distance, which she usually did.

"How about," she started. "I go get us all a snack, while you guys do that?" she asked, wincing as she accidentally tore her mouth a little more, fresh blood running down her chin.

Hel smiled sweetly at Kamira. The skin fell off her right arm, as if decaying before the very eyes of the four riders. The muscle then went too. The bone lengthened tremendously and her nails grew into raptor like talons. She swung the limb behind Kamiras head, sinking her talons into the girls cheeks. "Kamira, sweetheart. I know you're new here, but I don't take very kindly to sarcasim when it's directed at me, don'cha know. Yoko knows that lesson well."

"The next time you decide to be an arrogant little bitch, it'll be your head instead of your face. 'Kaythanks."

She pulled her hand back as the bone shortened, returning once more to a normal, human like arm.

"How about, I go get us all a snack, while you guys do that?" Death had said.

Hel turned to the meek woman with the same smile she had just given Kamira. "I think you and Yoko will be great pals," she said happily. "Butno. You just follow along behind Yoko and Krigon and they'll help you along. Actually, Krigon will probably go off on his own while Yoko hides in a corner. Looks like you're screwed."

((haha, just kidding, I'm good till a little before 2))

Okay, apparently she's in my head. Kamira thought as she wiped the blood off of her face. Here was an unexpected side effect of her transformation - she didn't expect to heal like this. Blood was still on her hair, but she of course had no idea it was there due to her blindness. She might be able to 'see' the shapes of things rather well now, but details were still fuzzy. "Kill, plunder, destroy. Got it." No doubt that they could easily find another person to replace her if Hel killed her, and she didn't care about her own death, but it would be a shame to die without seeing what else she could do with her new powers.

Although it should have been impossible, Death grew even paler, and glanced at Krigon as if expecting him to say something. He turned his nose at her, saluted Yoko, and grabbed Diadal roughly by the arm and swung her up onto his saddle as he kicked his heels into the sides of his horse, who reared back and galloped back towards the blacked trail they'd just come from.

Death exhaled, and slumped onto her own horse, who shook from the force of her movement. He wasn't very reliable, and had a tendency to regurgitate his food and catch worms far more often than usual. But Death preffered him to the large, muscular horse that Krigon commanded. More than once she'd feared that it would bite her.

She glanced at the two remaining riders, not feeling anywhere near as excited as Krigon at the prospect of their assignment. While the blind one...Kamira, she believed her name was...didn't seem to keen on her, Yoko looked the part of someone who wouldn't yell or attack her, at the least, and hazard a smile in his direction before turning her horse and starting a slow, ambling trot in the same direction.

Her horses ribs jutted into her calves, and the skittish creature jumped as a rabbit dashed in front of them. Carl, as she had dubbed him, tried to rear back but didn't have the strength to lift them both into the air, causing her to throw her hands out to try and balance. For a moment, all she could see was the little white tail bouncing up and down as it ran in a direct line in front of them, and then it skidded from its run, and it was dead on the ground.

Death stared at her hand. She'd never killed a living creature before, only plants. There was only one explanation.

Her powers were growing.

Yoko was a bit surprised that Death had bothered to smile at him. Since she had arrived with Krigon, he had assumed that she was going to be similar to him in personality. An egotistical jerk. He never used to make assumptions about people before, and now he saw why he didn't. He was usually wrong. He gave Death an acknowledging nod of his head. They weren't friends, simply...aquaintences.

The fox then drove his right heel into his horses side. Haldis' head shot upward and she broke into a swift and steady canter. It wasn't as fast as a gallop, but smoother than a trot, and Yoko was really in no hurry to go on a killing spree.

Kamira urged Hamlet on into a trot to follow Haldis. She wanted to take it slow and follow Yoko to begin with since she still wasn't too comfortable with the idea of riding a horse. She felt confident in her new abilities, but not confident enough to grow a huge ego and then run into a tree. Hopefully the horse was smart enough to keep itself from running into anything.

Yoko heard the sound of hoofbeats behind him. They didn't sound hulking, like Krigons horse, nor pathetic and wimpy, like Deaths, so he could only guess Kamira. A canter was much faster than a trot, and if Kamira didn't pick up the pace, Yoko would soon lose her. Not that he minded. It wasn't like she had made a great first impression on him. He wondered how Hel already knew about Kitais condition. Knowing her, she was probably planning on using it against him somehow. Any way she could torment him physically or mentally, she did so.

((back in 10. Gotta let the dog out.))

Kamira grew more confident as she found that the hoofbeats of her horse gave her a certain degree of 'vision' in a radius around her. She would still have to rely on others for long-distance sight, but she was safe from running into anything. With this knowledge in mind she urged Hamlet onto a faster canter in order to catch up with Yoko.

Krigon sped down the dead trail, his nostrils flaring as Diadal complained loudly behind him. She was turning out to be more of a nuisance than he'd planned, and he was thinking about dumping her somewhere deserted and start his search for warriors all over again. She was loud, she was usually drunk, and when she wasn't attempting to seduce him, she spent her time trying to swindle him out of money he didn't have. Her unusual marksmanship was all she had going for her.

He chanced a look behind him, and was delighted to see that he couldn't even make out the form of his colleagues from his considerable distance. Although it wasn't a race, he couldn't help but feel exalted that he was 'winning'.

Death, on the other hand, was stunned from what had just happened.

'All I did was throw out my hand.' she told herself over and over again as she slipped off her horse to examine the poor creature. The rabbits eyes were open and milky in death, and she had to hurry off to a bush to relieve her stomach. As she wiped away the bile, she glances around suspiciously and grabbed a pair of long sticks, and used them to pick up the little body gingerly, without having to get near it. She set it down in a deep indent of roots in a dying tree which turned black and withered as she got near it.

Death turned back to Carl, and hopped up, starting back on that slow amble, wondering what would come in her future. If her powers were growing and expanding from sucking life from crops and giving domesticated animals inflammation of the brain, to actually being able to cause the death of animals with a flick of her hand, what was next?

She doubted she would be strong enough to kill a human anytime soon, but until then she needed a safer way to channel this new power. Krigon had a greatsword, so she would earn her own weapon.

But first, some practices that she was more used to. Namely, crop killing and rabies inflicting.

Yoko gave a small smirk as he saw Krigon speed ahead. Sure, Wars horse was much faster than his, but the riders technique was awful. That, and his big hulking frame slowed him down a bit. Yoko nudged the horses sides and rose up a bit in the saddle and dropped his hands down by Haldis' neck, allowing the mare to have her head. He leaned forward slightly as the white mare broke into a gallop, dirt flying backwards at the sudden change of pace. With his slimmer build, Haldis didn't have too much of a problem. However, the build of the red horse was far superior to that of the white one, and there would be no way that Yoko would be able to pass Krigon up, much to his displeasure. However, he at least had War in view now. A crop would've been great at the moment, to help urge Haldis along. There were few things that Yoko was competitive in. Horse racing happened to be one them. As a child, he used to go to the race track at night and steal horses out of their stalls for a joy ride, returning them by the next morning. Akaelin had never gone with him. The 'golden boy' Akaelin had never broken a single rule as a child.

Kamira too urged her horse on as she tried to catch up to Yoko. She was able to count on one hand the number of times that she had ridden a horse so her knowledge of them was limited. Basically she knew that they had four speeds and whinnied; she knew nothing of different horse types or how it would affect their running. All horses were basically the same to her, they just came in small, big, and medium.

((Actually, a horse has more than four speeds. From slowest to fastest, its Walk, Jog, Trot, Lope, Canter, Gallop. ...........Ignore me and my spam. *waits patiently for Krigon to post* ^^))

((she doesnt' know that though XD Back in 20))

Krigon came across the first town, and Diadal jumped down from the horse to use her flint stone to catch her special arrows on fire. One by one, the small houses caught fire and and the villagers came running out screaming, like they tended to do. Krigon almost felt like humming a tune as he sliced heads and stole what the side bag of his saddle could carry. Diadal let out a shriek of merriment as she set yet another house aflame, throwing her arms up and laughing with glee.

Death approached a different town to the west, and she could already see the smoke and the glow of flame that was only surpassed in horror by the distant screams of terror that she could barely hear.

Taking a quieter approach, she raised her hand, and before her eyes, acres of crops withered and turned black before her. With that, she turned to the barns and concentrated, feeling the pressure at the base of her spine release as the manic howls raised the hairs on the back of her neck. Horses and cows bucked out of their pens, stampeding everything in sight. The dogs ran around in circles, biting each other until more than a few were dead, and the ones left had nothing but insanity in their eyes and foam in their mouths. But by the time the villagers got away from their work to take notices, Death had disappeared into the trees again, the only mark of her ever being there was the dead plants that littered her wake.


((sorry this took so long, my mom's on a crazy binge. I found a theme song for death, I'll go change her profile in a minutes, you should check it out!))

Hels words echoed in Yokos head as he peered down at a quaint little village. He remembered it as the one that Akaelin had terrorized for a time being. While he hadn't been in Macedon for awhile, he remembered the place as old fashioned, tight-knit, and superstitious. He dismounted Haldis and ground tied her, removing any extra clothing or armor besides his shirt, pants, and shoes. He entered the town calmly, the heels of his shoes making a clack noise on the cobblestone streets. 'Get creative,' the goddess had said. A bubonic plague would be easy. People would fall asleep, and the sickness would take them so swiftly that by morning they'd be dead. That was the way that Yoko preferred to kill people. Quietly and in their sleep. But that kind of thing wouldn't impress Hel. And while he didn't really want to impress the goddess, for Kitai, he was going to have to.

All he needed to do was pick a victim to start the infection.

He found his answer in a man and woman arguing on the street corner. The woman appeared to be frightened as the man backed her against a wall. Yoko moved in quickly as the man raised his hand to strike her. The fox grabbed the guys wrist, tightening his grip painfully. The man growled and tried to whirl around, but was unable to break from Yokos vice-like grip. “That’s no way to treat a lady,” Yoko said darkly. “Yeah?! And who the fuck do yo--” The man was cut off as Yoko sank his teeth into the palm of his hand. ‘I’m sorry,’ he thought absentmindedly to Kitai back at the Rebellion. He could imagine how upset she’d be at the thought of him starting an epidemic. The guy growled and tore his hand away. “Crazy little fucktard,” he spat, storming away. It didn’t really matter to Yoko what the guy thought. He’d be dead in a little bit anyways. His eyes would start to yellow, followed by his skin. Then he’d start coughing up blood. Eventually, his liver would fail, and he’d drop over dead. It would happen to all of them.

Kamira grinned as she heard the sounds of chaos and blood start in the village once Krigon and Diadel had hit it. She decided to make a risky move and jumped off her horse while it was still moving, not wanting to bring Hamlet too close to the village for fear of the rabies that was spreading. She expected to fall to the ground as always happened when she lost contact with something solid under her, but found that she could actually judge the distance and landed on her feet. Grinning, Kamira strode casually into the village.
"Excuse me, do you need any help getting somewhere?" A nearby man asked her. "It seems as if we are under attack, so you better find someplace safe."
Kamira just grinned and stuck her sword through his middle. She heard the man make a delicious gasp of surprise and pain before she twisted the sword up and cut through his heart. After he had hit the ground dead she located more people to kill.

Invoking her rare tendency to use her speed, Death urged Carl forward, and the poor beast was spurred on by an unknown magic. She went towards the village Krigon had come upon first, and was surprised to see the other rider Kamira stab a man through the gut on the outskirts of town, despite her blindness. Death shuddered in disgust as the mans innards plopped to the ground, and he fell over on top of them.

A further distance away, Krigon was having a bit too much fun as he sparred with the supposed young 'warrior' of the village, who was, admittedly, a good swordsman. Retreat, block, advance, slice, stab! He was dead, and so was his little wife, who had made the mistake of coming too close to cry over the body.

Diadal was nearly equal in her enjoyment, and arrows were being flung everywhere, only to be retrieved from the corpses and used again and again.

Death watched in disgust, absent-mindedly turning all of their various gardens to ash. What was the point of this? She had nothing to lose by stopping now, she'd already pretty much destroyed one village, why go on? Death turned and left the two riders behind her, heading back to the giant tree to ask someone about a possible weapon or tool she could acquire, perhaps is she fulfilled some other wishes of the goddess who had sent them on this trip.